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Saturday, April 1, 2017

Catholic diocese in Montana becomes 17th in US to file for bankruptcy due to expenses of defending child sexual abuse claims. 'Filing for bankruptcy offers diocese immediate protection from all pending and future lawsuits, giving it breathing room to continue its ministry'-Wall St. Journal

The
diocese’s bankruptcy filing comes in the face of 72 lawsuits claiming
child sexual abuse by priests and other diocesan staff. More claims may
be filed as the case goes through the bankruptcy process.

Great
Falls-Billings Bishop Michael Warfel told The Wall Street Journal he has
already met with several sexual abuse victims and is open to meeting
with all of them.

“A
lot of people have carried wounds for many years, and I am very
sensitive to that,” he said Friday. “It’s really important in the
healing process for victims to meet with the bishop and the diocese, and
I encourage it.”

All diocesan bankruptcies to date—from the
Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., in 2004 to the Diocese of New Ulm, Minn.,
which filed in March—have been driven by mounting liabilities tied to
the past sexual abuse of minors.

“On behalf of the entire Diocese of
Great Falls-Billings, I express my profound sorrow and sincere apologies
to anyone who was abused by a priest, a sister or a lay Church worker,”
the bishop said in a statement Friday. “No child should experience harm
from anyone who serves the Church.”

Bishop Warfel added that no
priests from his diocese facing credible accusations of abuse are in
active ministry and that most are deceased. The vast majority of abuse
allegations involving the Catholic Church in the U.S. occurred decades
ago.

The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings covers nearly two thirds
of the state of Montana, but serves a relatively small population.

According to its website, the diocese has about 40,000 parishioners, 42
active priests, 50 parishes and 50 missions.

In bankruptcy court
papers, the diocese listed total assets of about $21 million. The
diocese’s parishes aren’t separately incorporated, and it isn’t clear
how much, if any, of their assets will be included in a future
bankruptcy settlement.

The Great Falls-Billings diocese enters
bankruptcy with a negotiated agreement with both victims plaintiffs and
its insurance carriers, which aims to help speed up the chapter 11 case.
The agreement, reached with the help of a mediator, provides a road map
intended to avoid legal obstacles at the outset of the case, according
to Ford Elsaesser, a lawyer for the diocese.

Mr.
Elsaesser says he expects the case to follow in the footsteps of the
Diocese of Helena, Mont., a neighboring diocese that sought bankruptcy
protection in 2014.

The Diocese of Helena eventually reached a $21 million settlement with
about 380 victims, largely through out-of-court negotiations. The
diocese spent just over a year in chapter 11 but less than five hours in
court, according to Mr. Elsaesser, who also represented the Helena
diocese.

Other U.S. diocesan bankruptcies, however, have been protracted and hard-fought, with many stretching out over several years.

Not
everyone agrees that bankruptcy is the best forum for handling
sensitive allegations of past sexual abuse. Critics say the process can
deprive victims of the opportunity to present their stories to a jury
and can force other victims to come forward before they are ready. Once a
bankruptcy comes to a close, victims whose claims stem from abuse that
occurred prior to the bankruptcy are typically barred from taking their
allegations to court.

“While we had hoped to obtain justice for
our clients at trial, we are hopeful that the diocese’s bankruptcy will
result in nonmonetary terms for the protection of children and monetary
recognition of the tragedies endured by victims,” Leander James, an
attorney for a group of victims, said in a statement Friday."